Admission £3.00

THE ABOVE ad was at the root of this evening's strange confusion. Scores of revellers arrived at the door of the ICA to be confronted with a 'sold out' situation (although, with patience, it seemed that many were able to squeeze in) and a notice, opposite the entry point but easily missable, to the effect:

'Tonight. Concerto For Voice And Machinery. This is not an Einsturzende Neubauten concert.'

Disgruntled would-be patrons were heard to exclaim: “'ere, Eric, does that mean that German band aren't on?" and gained no confidence from the door person's similar lack of knowledge.

Once inside, I thudded into Mufti. Sitting on the bar staircase, the Neubauten stalwart was annoyed that the event had been advertised as a regular Neubauten gig at all, when in fact, it was the first and last performance of the aforementioned 'Concerto For Voice And Machinery'.

He claimed that the ICA had only allowed them to pin up the above notice on the night and that Einsturzende Neubauten, as such, intended no London dates in the immediate future.

As the evening wore on it became evident that most of the crowd, by now happily rubbing shoulders with the likes Of Christiana F, Marc Almond and Andy Warren (who?), were still anticipating a Neubauten gig or, at least, an hour or so of metal bashing regardless of what label it might be going under.

Around 10.30 the stage was covered with road drills, chainsaws, a cement mixer and various raw materials, most noticeably a piano quietly awaiting its imminent destruction.

To continue reading this article and to discover many more (over 140,000 words-worth!), purchase Mick Sinclair’s Adjusting the Stars: Music journalism from post-punk London.